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Originally created before the Great War by the government to replace human troops in battle, deathclaws were derived from mixed animal stock, primarily from the very popular Jackson Chameleon. They were then refined by the Master, using genetic manipulation and the Forced Evolutionary Virus. The resulting creature is incredibly fast and powerful.[2]

Around 2161, deathclaws were still considered mysterious and legendary creatures to many. They could originally only be found in the Boneyard at the warehouse, living with their mother. Later, as the deathclaw population grew and began to spread across the continent, the deathclaws stopped being perceived as legendary beasts, and started to be seen just as another dangerous creature.

Deathclaws have a hunchback, humanoid build, with a reptilian head and limbs. They stand roughly nine to ten feet tall, with a thick and resilient hide, powerful muscles, and twelve-inch-long, razor-sharp claws that can kill almost any other creature with only a few swipes; hence their name. They are said to have excellent hearing and sense of smell, though their eyesight is poor. Their build gives them incredible speed and strength in close combat, making them an extreme threat at all times. Though they were originally mutated chameleons, they have lost the ability to camouflage themselves.

Deathclaws are very aggressive, territorial, carnivorous, and highly intelligent. In the Mojave Wasteland, they typically live in small packs of around eight to twenty members. Packs are led by an alpha male, who is the only one allowed to mate with the females. However, deathclaws in the Capital Wasteland are for the most part solitary, though sometimes they are encountered in pairs.

Deathclaws are oviparous, with the eggs typically laid in dark, sheltered locations and fiercely guarded by their mother. Young deathclaws reach maturity under the care of their parents, following them closely until they are old enough to fend for themselves.

Although they do not have vocal cords, they can growl and shout, and seem to be able to mimic human speech much the same as a parrot does. However, normal deathclaws aren't intelligent enough to be capable of real speech.

Deathclaws are arguably one of the fastest, most powerful and frightening creatures in the game. Fortunately, deathclaws are not found in many areas around the Capital Wasteland, so their influence on where and when the Lone Wanderer travels is limited. Despite having tough hides according to game lore, the deathclaws in the game are simply given a lot of Hit Points rather than Damage Resistance.

Enclave deathclaws only make appearances as Enclave camps begin to appear. Many of these camps are likely to house mind-controlled deathclaws in cages, which are just the same as regular ones, with the exception that they will not attack Enclave forces. The mind-control devices on their heads can be targeted and crippled, which will frenzy them. Enclave deathclaws may also be dropped off from Enclave Vertibirds, along with Enclave soldiers and sentry bots.

During the quest The American Dream, a deathclaw can be seen in a cage in Raven Rock. This deathclaw has not yet been fitted with the mind-control device and can be released from captivity with a Lockpick skill of 50. When released, it will attempt to kill anything in sight (excluding its liberator) until it runs out of other enemies to fight. It will then proceed to attack the Lone Wanderer.

During the Broken Steel add-on quest Shock Value, if one receives Scribe Vallincourt's device, the Enclave deathclaws will act as temporary followers, but if they are led too far from the Enclave base where they were stationed, their heads will explode.

Deathclaw corpses contain a deathclaw hand, a component which can be used in creating a deathclaw gauntlet. However, when the hand is taken, the deathclaw still has both hands.

Deathclaws are classified as "abominations," and are therefore not affected by the Animal Friendperk.

With Broken Steel installed, random encounters with deathclaws occur far more often. At higher levels, deathclaws can be commonly seen traveling in pairs.

Crippling a deathclaw's leg slows it down and also prevents it from using its high damage leaping attack, thus decreasing its combat effectiveness and making it easier to kill. Crippling a leg also slows a deathclaw down more than it does most other wasteland creatures, because deathclaws are bipeds rather than quadrupeds.

If the player character uses something to make themselves invisible (i.e. Stealth Boy or Chinese stealth armor) at the Enclave outpost near Dukov's Place, the Enclave deathclaw will usually go berserk and attack the Enclave soldiers, even without the jammer.

pcps3xbox360 Deathclaws occasionally fly off into the sky in a physics engine glitch. They can still be targeted and killed in V.A.T.S. which will result in their dead body flying across a large amount of land. [verified]

pcps3xbox360 A deathclaw may spawn inside Regulator HQ and attack everyone. It will continue to spawn in this manner after the first time this happens. [verified]

pcps3xbox360 When using the deathclaw control scrambler it's possible for them to not follow the player, but die automatically. [verified]

xbox360 A deathclaw may spawn inside Tenpenny Tower and attack everyone. It will continue to spawn in this manner after the first time this happens. [verified]

pcps3xbox360 A deathclaw may spawn inside Megaton and will kill everyone. Oddly the deathclaw will not be hostile to the player. This problem can be fixed by removing the deathclaw from the game with console commands. [verified]

"Well, let's see... Deathclaws appear to be mutated Jackson's ChameleonsIn-game spelling, punctuation and/or grammar, the horned variety. There are a lot of similarities still present, but an even greater number of differences. The mutation factor is quite high. This species is highly intelligent, about the equivalent of an eight-year-old, with some individuals reaching human normal level. Their learning capacity is very high and they are capable of abstract thought and reasoning."